While some were hoping that the timing of recent reports coming in from the Dominican Republic was just a strange coincidence, it looks like there might be more beneath the surface indeed.
More reports have been coming in from people vacationing in the country falling ill, and it does not look like the situation is getting any better.
Two Americans have been added to the list of people who have fallen ill after vacationing in the Dominican Republic, and this time, both cases have been fatal.
However, it looks like the cases are not fresh at all, as both deaths had reportedly occurred 2-3 years ago.
Chris Palmer, a 41-year-old Army veteran and a Pennsylvania nurse Barbara Diane Maser-Mitchell, 69, died in 2016, according to information provided by their families to Fox News.
Bernadette Hiller, an ex-girlfriend, said this about Palmer: “As soon as he died, I wondered if he was poisoned if he was drugged. He was healthy as a horse. We are devastated and are seeking answers. This was so sudden and unexpected. This has been a nightmare for his family.”
Terry Mackey, the companion of Maser-Mitchell’s son, went in the same direction with the mysterious circumstances around her death.
He stated: “In the 15 years I knew her, she never suffered aftereffects. I was sitting in the ambulance with her, holding her hand the whole time. She was a [licensed practical nurse], she knew the symptoms of a heart attack; she would have known. She didn’t present symptoms of a heart attack.”
This has only served to make commenters even more worried though, as it looks like whatever is going on at the country’s resorts has been a long-running problem.
Two theories have been circulating so far, although there is no clarity on the front.
One suggestion is that some resorts in the country have been cutting their alcoholic drinks with illicit substances, which have led to illnesses and deaths.
The other prominent theory is that resorts are using banned pesticides or legal substances that are being applied in inappropriate manners.
In any case, investigations into the incidents continue, and many have expressed their worries over the situation in the country.
The Dominican Republic seems to have taken a hit to its tourism as a result of the incident, although many have pointed out that the country mostly has itself to blame for that, due to the way the investigations have been handled so far.
There have been several reports of alleged attempts to sweep the situation under the rug.
Travelers seizing on cheap tickets are still visiting the island in big numbers despite those incidents.
Vittorio Caruso, 56, of Glen Cove, Long Island, who was enjoying his retirement, died on the island earlier this month.
Caruso is the 10th American tourist to die in the Dominican Republic during a vacation.
